• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Caravanistan

Caravanistan

The Silk Road Travel Guide

  • Plan your trip
    • Silk Road
    • Uzbekistan
    • Kyrgyzstan
    • Tajikistan
    • Turkmenistan
    • Kazakhstan
  • Tours
  • Visa shop
  • Car rental
  • Forum
Home / Transport / Cycling / Cycling in Tajikistan

Cycling in Tajikistan

Cycle touring Tajikistan and especially cycling the Pamir Highway is not for the faint-hearted. The altitude means that there is less oxygen in the air. The sparse population makes that you will have to carry supplies for 3-4 days at times. And at times the road is really steep.

Table of Contents

  • Traffic and roads in Tajikistan
  • Cycle routes
  • Buy, sell, rent and repair a bicycle (+ gear)
    • Khorog
    • Dushanbe
  • Transporting your bicycle
  • Camping
  • Onward travel
    • Cycling the Silk Road
  • More on Tajikistan

Traffic and roads in Tajikistan

Traffic is sparse outside of the cities, and the bad road conditions make that often trucks and cars don’t drive too fast. It does get very dusty at times, and there is always a chance for drunk drivers, which you sadly cannot arm yourself against.

For an overview of the state of the roads in Tajikistan, check out driving in Tajikistan and the Pamir Highway article. Tunnels are a particular hazard for cyclists. Stay safe.

Cycle routes

The Pamir Highway is the big target for cyclists.

The Bartang Valley is a more hardcore shortcut for the Pamir Highway. Find more info on bikepacking.com, in these 2 blogs: Karakul to Rushan and Rushan to Karakul, or in the Cycling Bartang Valley thread on our forum.

North of Dushanbe, there is good mountain biking in the Yagnob valley and the Fann mountains. The Panjakent – Dushanbe road has perfect tarmac and great views. The downside is that cars drive fast because of the excellent road.

There is still doubt about the state of the Anzob pass for cyclists.

Buy, sell, rent and repair a bicycle (+ gear)

We have a forum dedicated to buying and selling bicycle (gear) while on the road. We collect information on bicycle shops in Tajikistan on the forum.

Khorog

Zohir has a collection of reasonable bikes and panniers for bike touring. He comes recommended as a bicycle mechanic. Find him at +992 93 577 4920 or on Facebook.

Khorog bicycle updates welcome!

Dushanbe

Pamircycleteam has an online shop where you can buy or pre-order spare parts. They do repairs (perhaps even at your hostel) and are able to send spares to a location on the Pamir Highway.

A bike shop is located on the corner of Abay street and Borbad Street (OSM). They have some decent components and spare parts, also a range of mountain and road bikes. A young mechanic by the name of Zoir is very helpful.

The manager of the Green House Hostel can get you any bike part you want sent from Moscow within 3-4 days.

The Sultoni Kabir bazaar on Karaboev Avenue has a whole section for bikes but they only sell Chinese parts.

VeloMoto shop on Abdulahab Kakharov street is regarded as not very friendly or helpful, but has a few original Shimano parts.

Recommended as a quality mechanic is Bakhrom Shodiev, who works out of his home in the west of the city and speaks good English. He has some spare parts, but as this is not his normal job, this is not a full mechanic shop. His contact details are: [email protected], +992 919163448. He will charge a fee similar to what you will pay at home, which reflects the quality so don’t expect a cheap fix.

Transporting your bicycle

If you for some reason cannot cycle any further, you will have to negotiate with the owner of a truck or pick-up truck to take you with him. Seeing how little traffic there is sometimes, you might get stuck waiting for a while. Trains are almost non-existent in Tajikistan. Big buses also do not exist, only shared jeeps and taxis and marshrutkas for shorter distances.

The plane between Khorog and Dushanbe will probably take your bicycle.

Camping

All info regarding accommodation (including camping and where to get camping supplies) at accommodation in Tajikistan.

Onward travel

Cycling the Silk Road

  • Cycling Afghanistan
  • Cycling Kazakhstan
  • Cycling Kyrgyzstan
  • Cycling Uzbekistan
  • Cycling Tajikistan
  • Cycling Turkmenistan

More on Tajikistan

  • The basics
    • Tajikistan starter guide
    • Things to do
    • Accommodation
    • Budget estimates, communication & banking
    • Visas & border crossings
    • When to visit & events calendar
    • Books
    • Tours
  • Transport
    • Self-driving
    • Trains
    • Cycling
  • Regions
    • Northern Tajikistan
    • Central Tajikistan
    • Southern Tajikistan
    • Pamirs

Last updated on February 28, 2023

Footer

Travel Guide

  • Silk Road
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Tajikistan
  • Uzbekistan
  • Turkmenistan

Tours & Rental

  • Custom tours
  • Search all tours
  • Pamir Highway tours
  • Uzbekistan tours
  • Kyrgyzstan tours
  • Car & motorbike rental

Visa invitations

  • Kazakhstan
  • Pakistan
  • Russia (tourist)
  • Russia (business)

Get to know us

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • What people say
  • Letter from the Silk Road
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Follow us on Instagram

Caravanistan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Made in Eurasia by Steven & Saule
2011 - 2023

Contact
Close

Do you have a request for this tour operator? Send a message

Customize
Close

Not exactly what you were looking for? Check out our custom tour offer: competitive prices, tailored to your needs and wants. Customize your tour